Reflections
by D. M. Robb
Summary: Victor and Victoria think back over the strange events that had recently taken place in their lives.
1. Chapter 1 Victoria

**Chapter 1**

**Victoria**

Victoria clung to Victor's hand as they made their way toward her home from the church. In her other hand she held the bouquet that Emily had tossed to her, just before the corpse-woman had dissolved into countless blue butterflies. Both she and Victor remained silent, lost in their own thoughts. It had certainly been a strange night, a night when the dead literally walked around, and one the townspeople weren't soon to forget.

The rest of the dead had disappeared, back to wherever it was they had come, and most of the living had returned home. The moon shimmered against the icy, nearly empty streets. Victoria shivered. Her wedding gown, the dress she had married Lord Barkis in, was long-sleeved but the chill winter air still seeped through it. Victor slipped off his newly mended coat and placed it over her shoulders.

"Thank you," she said softly as pleasant warmth stirred within her. He smiled at her and nodded. She had come so close to losing him.

Dozens of questions for Victor stirred in her mind but she felt too drained, yet oddly satisfied, to say anything. They would have plenty of time over the following days to discuss those recent, bizarre events. For now, it was comforting just to walk beside him, holding his hand.

It had certainly been an exhausting couple of days. Relief flooded Victoria as she realized that she was no longer married to Lord Barkis. Although she didn't want to celebrate anyone's death, he had been an evil man and had come close to killing both her and Victor that evening, just as he had murdered poor Emily many years ago. And just to get his hands on her family fortune…which, of course, was non-existent. Victoria couldn't help but smile as she recalled Barkis' rage at learning that. And now he was dead, having drunk poisoned wine that had been intended for Victor.

A light-headed feeling of panic momentarily jabbed at her. So close…what if she hadn't showed up at the church when she did? Would Victor have been lost to her forever? At least that didn't happen. She clutched Victor's hand tighter and smiled up at him, a smile he returned. She then turned her eyes to the sky, searching for it any sign of Emily. All she could see were the moon and stars, woven with a few wispy clouds.

Emily hadn't been as bad as Victoria had initially thought. She remembered when Emily had shown up in her room, shortly after Victor had briefly returned—had that been only last night? It already seemed like a lifetime ago. She recalled the fear she had felt toward the strange woman, with her long tangled hair and bones showing through her tattered wedding gown. How she had glared at Victoria and insisted that she was Victor's wife, displaying the golden wedding ring on her skeletal hand. And then she had spirited Victor away in a cloud of cawing ravens, with Victor reaching toward Victoria, calling her name.

Victoria didn't know where the corpse-woman had taken Victor but she was certain it was someplace unpleasant. Victoria's cheeks burned as she remembered the terrible things she had thought about her, believing her to be an evil shrew who had stolen Victor away, and how her parents and Pastor Galswells had scoffed at her claims.

But her opinions toward Emily had changed when she saw the kindness reflected in the corpse-woman's tear-filled eyes at the wedding ceremony, when she had held out her hand to Victoria and gave her back to Victor. Emily had remained by her side as Victor battled Barkis and had even placed a protective arm around her shoulders, pulling her back when several pews had been knocked over. Emily had even saved Victor's life, taking the sword thrust that Barkis had intended for him.

_Thank you, Emily, for everything you did for us_, Victoria thought, lifting her gaze skyward. She felt certain that, had she known Emily in life, they would have been good friends. _I promise that I will honor your memory._

"Here we are," said Victor, drawing her from her thoughts, as they walked up to her door. Victoria looked up into his dark eyes and felt that tingling warmth spread through her. I'm a widow now. She had difficulty restraining that joyous thought. This was dampened by the realization that custom dictated that she wait a year and wear nothing but black during that time. Still, she had Victor back. That was the most important. After these recent past events, a little waiting, even a year, seemed like nothing. "Well, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow?" he said shyly, running a hand through his tousled hair.

"Tomorrow, yes," Victoria murmured.

"Get some rest," he said. "It's been a taxing day for everyone." He leaned closer. Victoria raised her face. The warmth within increased as his lips brushed against hers. A part of her feared that someone would interrupt at any moment. No one did and they shared a long kiss.

Her heart felt as it would burst with joy as she reluctantly turned from Victor and let herself in. The vast dining room was still in disarray from the unexpected visitors, chairs overturned and dishes scattered everywhere. She shuddered as she took note of the uneaten wedding cake that still stood on the table. I can't believe I was that wicked man's wife, even if for a few hours, she thought, fighting the anger she felt toward her parents. It was they who had forced me to marry him, even when I told them I didn't want to go through with that, that I didn't love him. But they'd never understand love. They didn't even love _each other. _Still, they were broke and desperate. Victoria felt that that realization didn't excuse their actions but it did make it easier for her to forgive.

Where were they, anyway? She searched the large, mostly empty mansion and found them in their bedroom. Her father Finis was clutching his beloved musket in one hand and shaking, while her mother Maudeline sat on the bed with her arms crossed.

"Victoria!" she shrieked, glaring. "You scared us half to death! Where have you been?"

"A-are they gone?" Finis gasped, displaying a fear that she had never seen him express.

"Yes. Everything is back to normal."

Both sighed, audibly relieved. Finis lowered his musket.

"And where's your husband, Lord Barkis?" Maudeline asked, peering through the open doorway beyond Victoria, as if expecting to see him.

"He's dead." Victoria took pleasure in their wide-eyed expressions. "He accidently drank poisoned wine at a wedding ceremony. But—"

"Dead? The scandal!" Maudeline burst, her voice rising to a shriek. "What will the neighbors think? We won't be able to show our faces anywhere. And you realize that we are still poor?"

Victoria struggled to keep from laughing. "So was Lord Barkis. He only wanted to marry me for _my _money." Satisfaction filled her as she looked over her parents' shocked faces. "But Victor has returned and he is the one I will be marrying."

Before they could say anything else, she turned and strode toward her bedroom.

It was only when the maid Hildegarde helped Victoria out of her corset that she realized how exhausted she was. It's strange how I don't realize how uncomfortable these wretched things are until I take them off, she thought, tossing it aside and slipping into her nightgown. Victoria next unpinned her hair, allowing the soft chestnut tresses to fall around her shoulders. She started to brush her hair and noticed Hildegarde still standing besides her, nervously twisting her apron.

"I'm going to retire, dear," she said softly. "I'm thinking about giving your parents my resignation tomorrow."

"What?" Victoria turned toward the tiny, elderly woman and took her hand. "What do you mean? You've been with us forever."

"I saw my late husband Thomas tonight," she said, her eyes growing misty. "I was only with him for a short time before he had to return to the Land and the Dead. Still, he promised to wait for me. Tonight made me realize just how short and precious life is."

Victoria sank onto her settee. Hildegarde couldn't leave!

"For years, my eldest son, who lives in the country with his wife and children, has been asking me to leave this place and move in with them. I was so seldom able to visit since I didn't have many days off and he lives quite far. But I think now is the time. I look forward to spending my days playing with my grandchildren."

Hot tears burned Victoria's eyes but she blinked them back. She seldom cried but the thought of losing Hildegarde brought her close. Hildegarde had worked for the Everglots ever since Victoria was a small child. She had been more of a loving mother to Victoria than Maudeline had ever been. Victoria had always had the feeling that her parents hadn't wanted children, that she'd been merely thrust upon them, an accident. She especially felt that, being a girl, she had been a greater disappointment to her father. He wanted someone whom he could share his passion for guns and hunting with, not a girl who would frequently hide in her room, absorbing herself in novels of romance and adventure…books she hid from her practical-minded mother. It was only later, after Victoria had developed into an attractive young woman, that they realized they could use that to their advantage and marry her off to someone with means. Fortunately, that worked out for her in regards to Victor…

But Hildegarde had accepted her for who she was and had even snuck her many a romance novel herself. Victoria didn't have many friends growing up since she was privately tutored so her maid had become someone she could confide in.

I can't be selfish, she thought, putting her arms around the woman's small, frail body and embracing her tightly. She briefly thought of Emily and the sacrifice she had made that night. Besides, I now have Victor. "I'll miss you," she whispered. "But I know you will be happy. I promise to visit you every chance I get."

"Come, Miss Victoria," Hildegarde said, leading her to the bed and drawing back the covers. "You look exhausted. I'll tuck you in one last time, just as I used to when you were a little girl."

A hot tear tickled Victoria's cheek as she slipped beneath the silken sheets. She smiled briefly up at Hildegarde but dropped to sleep as soon as her eyes closed.


	2. Chapter 2 Victor

9

**Chapter 2**

**Victor**

The house was dark when Victor entered. Where were his parents? Were they out looking for him? How long had he been with Emily in the Underworld? It was difficult to tell. Time didn't seem to exist down there. Perhaps his folks were still wandering around town, stirred up from all the excitement.

They'll return home eventually, Victor thought, lighting an oil lamp and trudging up the stairs. Each step felt weighted and his eyelids pressed heavily against his eyes. No one ever seemed to sleep in the Land of the Dead. They probably didn't need to. But up here rest was important. Victor couldn't remember when he'd last slept.

Moonlight was spilling into his bedroom, onto his desk where he'd placed his drawings of the blue butterfly he had been working on. He still found it hard to believe that Emily had transformed into those butterflies, hundreds of them, and drifted away, toward the moon. Had that really happened? Or had it been an illusion, brought on by sleep deprivation?

_Wherever you are, Emily, I hoped you're happy_, he thought, staring up at the moon. An overwhelming feeling of gratitude toward her filled him. He had almost married Emily, had come so close, after his crushing disappointment when he heard that Victoria had married someone else.

I was fond of Emily, he thought. She was vivacious and beautiful and they shared the same passion for music. He remembered the duet they had played together and how her anger at him for betraying her had dissolved as they joined together in that song, their notes forming perfect harmony. Where did she learn to play like that? It was frowned upon in this town for women to partake in such activities, something that Victor personally felt was ridiculous. He had wanted to ask her that but then had become distracted by news of Victoria, followed by his near-marriage to Emily.

Still, in spite of her grace, beauty, kindness and musical aptitude, Emily didn't fill him with the same warmth that Victoria did. Was it because she was dead and he alive? Could he have grown to love her the same way had they gone through with the marriage? Perhaps I'll never know, he thought.

The fuzzy warmth within increased as he thought of Victoria. Petite, soft-spoken Victoria who had an inner strength. He could see an image of her in his mind, her lovely, heart-shaped face and the delicate rose flush of her cheeks. And she had such beautiful eyes: large and colored a rich mahogany, speckled with gold.

He remembered, with a jolt, that she had been married to that newcomer Lord Barkis. He shuddered to think that she had been forced into that marriage by her parents, and to the same man who had murdered Emily. At least he was now dead, Victor thought, settling on his bed. He felt a gnawing disappointment as he realized that the newly widowed Victoria would have to wait an entire year before she could marry again.

Well, she will be worth the wait. His eyes wandered to the photographs of Scraps that hung on the wall. Victor smiled as he thought of his childhood pet, now a walking skeleton, happily roaming the Underworld streets. How had Emily known that Scraps had been his dog? She had been able to communicate with him. Perhaps Scraps had told her. That was something else he had meant to ask her.

He lay back onto his bed without bothering to undress and instantly fell asleep.

Victor was awakened suddenly by loud noises coming from downstairs.

"Of all the indignities!" his mother Nell was yelling. "Riding driverless through town until we crashed into that tree! I'm going to strangle Mayhew for deserting us like that. He could have killed us! I—"

"Now, dear, calm down," said Will, his father. "What we need is a good night's sleep. We'll work all this out in the morning."

"I'd like to work it out now, if you don't mind."

"Mother! Father!" Victor rushed toward them, where they had collapsed on the settee in the drawing room. Both were badly disheveled and Nell's feathered hat was bashed down over her head. "Are you all right? What happened? Where have you been?"

"I'd like to ask you the same question," Nell said, pulling her bulky body from the settee and striding toward Victor. She wacked him over the head with her folded up fan. "Do you know how much trouble you've caused us, running off like that?"

"I'm so sorry." Victor sank into the nearest chair and buried his face in his hands. He was so tired and didn't even know where to begin to explain about all that had happened. "I-I got a little…sidetracked, that's all."

"That's no excuse!" Nell scolded. "First thing tomorrow morning, you're going straight over to the Everglots and apologize. I doubt that will do us any good. They probably don't want us to be part of their family anymore. Not if we begged them. Not after what you pulled tonight." She sighed. "There go our teas with the queen and fancy parties."

"I-I'll do that," Victor whispered. "I'll apologize to Lord and Lady Everglot. But Victoria and I have worked it out." He didn't bother to tell them that she would have to wait a year since she had been briefly married to Lord Barkis who was now dead… Just thinking about all that made his head hurt. He'd worry about that in the morning. Now he just wanted to sleep.

"Let's all go to bed, now shall we?" said Will, rising to his feet and starting toward the stairs. "It's been a long day for all of us."

"First I need to have a word with Mayhew," said Nell, her eyes flashing. "Believe me, he's in for an earful. Who does he think he is, deserting us like that? I ought to—"

"Mayhew's dead," Victor blurted.

"What did you say?" Nell yanked off her hopeless hat and tossed it onto a low table.

"He's dead," Victor repeated. "I s-saw him tonight, in the Land of the Dead."

"The Land of the Dead? Victor, if I find you're making up stories, I'm going to give you another whack with this fan."

"That's right, Mother. That's where I was tonight. In the Land of the Dead. But the dead all rose above the ground temporarily for…for a wedding ceremony." He didn't bother to explain that it would have been _his_ wedding. Just thinking about that made him even more tired, if that was possible.

Nell glared at him and raised her fan—Victor flinched—but then lowered her arm. "Was that what our neighbor Gertrude was babbling about? Something about seeing her husband Alfred again, after the man had been dead for fifteen years?"

"And the town crier had been shouting something about the dead walking the Earth," Will said. "Could it be?"

"It was true," said Victor. "I was there. And Mayhew was amongst them."

"He was?" Nell's voice softened. Her eyes took on a tearful shimmer. "Then he really died? Was that why… why he disappeared on us? Because he dropped dead?" She sank back onto the settee and sobbed. Will settled beside her and placed an arm around her. "I-I always told him he should take care of that cough of his, that it would be the death of him someday. But I never told him that I cared for him, that—"

"Mayhew is fine," Victor said, placing a hand on his mother's plump shoulder. "I know. I saw him myself in the Land of the Dead. He was perfectly happy."

Nell looked up at him. The tears had smeared her makeup and her hair was a tousled mess. "He-he was?"

Victor smiled and nodded. "He told me himself that he felt great. And I'm sure he knows that, deep down, you really cared about him."

"We'll have to get a new driver now." Nell's voice was low and shaky. "But no one will ever take the place of Mayhew."

"Let's just work all that out in the morning," said Will, helping her up. "It's late and we can all certainly use a good night's sleep."

"I know I can," said Victor, heading back to his bedroom. He was looking forward to going to the Everglots first thing in the morning, to seeing Victoria again. But for now he was going to sleep and _nothing_ else was going to keep him from it.


	3. Chapter 3 Emily

10

**Chapter 3**

**Emily**

Victoria crept toward Victor, who was sitting on a rock with his sketchpad. She paused, not wanting to disturb him just yet. His focus was so intense, whether he was playing the piano or drawing that she often felt she had to pull him out of a trance.

It had been exactly a year since Victor had almost married Emily yet so many things had changed. Victoria's parents had been so shaken up by the events of that night and so desperate to be kept from the poorhouse that, for once in their lives, they opted to forego tradition and allowed her and Victor to marry as soon as possible. They did so, a few days later in a simple ceremony.

Victoria's parents owned a summer cottage, which stood between the forest and the sea, away from the town. It was a place they had seldom used yet the young couple knew it would be ideal for them. The cottage needed many repairs and they had instantly set to work, fixing it up. Now it was perfect, and just in time for their first child.

Victoria smiled and placed a hand on her distended belly. She could feel the tiny life slightly stirring within her. Soon. She had given up wearing corsets the day she married Victor but now she had the perfect excuse not to. And she had even taken to wearing her hair loose, something that her mother did not approve of. A breeze, unusually warm for winter and tinged with the sea, blew softly against her, stirring her long hair.

She breathed in the scents of salt and pine as she watched Victor continue to sketch. The sun was beginning to set, spilling a blinding golden light over the restless sea and gilding the frosted scrub, and the sand beyond. The sky overhead was a vibrant blue, a shade that was gradually deepening. Victoria had spent the day visiting Hildegarde and her family. She had felt such happiness watching her former maid play with the grandchildren. The woman seemed years younger. Working for my parents could age anyone, Victoria thought, smiling. The visit had also made her even more eager for her child to be born.

She drew closer to Victor, curious to see what he was sketching. He worked in his father's fish business but was also eagerly pursuing a career as a professional pianist. He had even started giving Victoria piano lessons. She still felt awkward at the keyboard but was learning and could play several simple tunes.

Several blue butterflies were darting amongst a cluster of flowers that had made an early appearance and Victor was drawing them.

"Do you think they are a part of Emily?" Victoria asked, settling onto the rock beside him. The waves continued to whisper against the shore.

He put down his sketchpad and took her hands. "Perhaps." He looked toward the sunset, which was deepening from gold to rose. His skin is no longer so pale, as it was when we first met, she thought, but now has a healthy glow. Living away from the town has been good for both of us. "I just hope she's as happy as we are."

Victoria smiled. "I made a promise a year ago today that I would honor her memory. If the child is a girl, I would like to name her Emily."

"That's a wonderful idea." Victor took her into his arms. They shared a long kiss as the sun dipped into the sea, leaving behind a glowing residue.

End


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